Ten Little Collègiens
by tempomental
Summary: Ten people are locked in the Louvre overnight for a school activity. Will Marinette be able to sneak off with Adrien without getting caught? Will the akuma that's in there, picking people off one-by-one, get to them first? Will Ladybug and Cat Noir be able to save the day without blowing their identities?
1. Ten to Seven

**Ten Little Collègiens**

 _Ten little children at a friend's house to dine;_

 _One choked his little self and then there were nine._

 _Nine little children staying up too late;_

 _One fell asleep early and then there were eight._

 _Eight little children gazing into heaven;_

 _One stayed too long and then there were seven._

 _Seven little children, each making their picks;_

 _One chose poorly and then there were six._

 _Six little children going for a drive;_

 _One got in a crash and then there were five._

 _Five little children wishing there's no more;_

 _One got his wish, and then there were four._

 _Four little children trying hard to see;_

 _One saw too much, and then there were three._

 _Three little children who don't know what to do;_

 _One got a bright idea and then there were two._

 _Two little children watching for the sun;_

 _One saw spots and then there was one._

 _One little child left all alone;_

 _His heart was broken and then there were none._

* * *

[Timeline: S2, sometime before Catalyst]

* * *

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news - Nadja Chamack here reporting on the latest craze to sweep the streets of Paris. And this one certainly isn't anything to get bemused about. The newest Internet Craze is something called the "Hawk Moth Challenge". Teens are getting together at slumber parties and playing a game where they try to get Hawk Moth to akumatize someone at their party! While there hasn't been any sightings of Hawk Moth yet, Ladybug and Cat Noir have had to crash three late-night parties this week alone to stop akumas from getting out of hand. Parents, please! We urge you to stop the Hawk Moth challenge, because one of your children could be next."

* * *

"Class," implored Miss Bustier, "please remember that the annual Night at the Museum is tomorrow night! Nine of you have signed up; please make sure you get your permission slips to me before school lets out tomorrow. Alix, that includes you, even though your dad will be the one there supervising."

"Nine? Who's not going?" Alya wondered out loud.

"Juleka and I have a… prior engagement," Rose squeaked. "We're going to the hospital to hand out toys that we collected for Prince Ali's toy drive!"

Kim piped up, "I have a swim meet. Even though I can swim the fastest out of everyone there and will have my race done before the lock-in, I should stay and watch Ondine race too. Max is going as unofficial videographer and statistician in case I set any records."

"Ivan's got the flu, so he won't be able to make it. I'm going, though!" said Mylène.

Alya leaned over to Marinette. "Based on who is going, sounds like it could be a nice couples night out, though!" She nudged Marinette in the side. "Who doesn't like a nice romantic date at the Louvre?"

Marinette looked at her best friend. "Well, I don't know, Alya, it seems like an akuma always beats us there. Copycat, Pharaoh - where _you_ were almost sacrificed, mind you - Riposte… yeah, very romantic." Marinette rolled her eyes, and giggled. "I think most people would be happy to stay away from the Louvre these days. It's never as crowded at I think it should be."

"Adrien, you got your dad to let you go to this?" Nino gaped. "I'm shocked the old man would let you do something like this. Letting you out of the house for an extended period of time just isn't his… thing, you know?"

"Oh, he doesn't know I'm going," Adrien smirked. "He actually thinks I'll be in my room working on a project all night."

Nino protested, "But, dude, what if he goes in your room?"

"I've got it covered! Ever hear of an old American movie called _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_? The guy in that movie has tons of tricks to convince your parents that you're in bed!" Adrien beamed. "They already think I practice piano much more than I actually do, thanks to my iPod. It'll be a cinch."

Alya nudged Marinette again and stared at her. _Girl, we are so talking about this later_ , that look said. Marinette glanced at her, knew she had lost whatever silent conversation they were having, and grinned.

* * *

The next day was a whirlwind for Marinette. Between dodging Alya's looks - _I feel like I'm being interrogated, and she's not even saying a word! How does she DO that?_ \- and mostly succeeding in using real, actual words around Adrien, it barely registered with her that school was dismissed and it was time to head home. When she looked up from her tablet, most of the other students were already out the door, with only Adrien, Nino, and Alya remaining.

"Oh!... um… whoops," Marinette stammered. She hurriedly crammed her belongings into her bag and stood up.

Alya grabbed her by the wrist and guided her to the door. "See you tonight, boys," she said slyly.

Marinette blushed. "Good night, Adrien!"

Alya had to practically drag her stumbling, stuttering best friend down the stairs and out the door of the school. Marinette regained power as they approached her parents' bakery, but it wasn't enough to escape the inquisitive brunette. The door "ding"ed as the girls entered, waving to Tom and Sabine, who were behind the counter arranging pastries for the pre-dinner crowd.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" Marinette called out as Alya lightly pushed her past them and into the back.

Tom chuckled, "Hi, honey!"

"Looks like someone's going to get a Girl Talk," Sabine knowingly called after them.

"I thought this was a class assignment? Why is everyone getting all girl-giggly about a trip to the museum?"

"Oh, honey… a sleepover where Marinette gets to spend time with Adrien? Alya's probably just here to make sure her feet stay on the ground. Didn't you ever have a crush you couldn't talk to?"

"Yeah, but I solved that by making some great pastries for her. It worked, too!" Tom nudged his wife playfully with his hip, nearly sending her sprawling. "Speaking of sleepovers with our crushes, we've got the house to ourselves tonight. What should we do?"

"How about a romantic balcony dinner? You can bring the pastries…"

* * *

Alya got Marinette into her room and closed the trap door behind her, then stood on it so there was no chance of escape. "OK, girl, we have four hours before we have to be at the Louvre. Let's strategize! What are you going to wear? Where are you going to take him? What's his favorite piece of art? When are you going to kiss that poor boy senseless?"

Marinette's head spun. "Slow down! Whoa! Enough!" She took a breath. "Alya - this can be a great night! Or it could be a total disaster. I'm not sure which one it will be yet, though. I don't want it to be a disaster but I could always just fall over or accidentally set off one of the alarms and then Adrien will run away and we will never get married and have two kids and a hamster…"

She was interrupted by her friend gently shaking her. "Marinette? Mar-i-neeette," Alya sang. "You've so got this! Let's start with the easy stuff. What are you going to wear? Everybody will be going in pajamas, I think."

"Pajamas?!" Marinette shrieked. "I can't go in pajamas, I will die right there on the spot!"

"The last time you wore your pajamas around Adrien, he did spend all day with you and even took you to the movies," Alya pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"OK, fine, good point. You win there," Marinette said dejectedly. "But! I am not going to the museum to kiss Adrien! Senseless or otherwise! Don't make that face at me, Alya… OK, fine, if it happens, it happens, and I'll be the happiest girl alive if it _does_ happen, but that doesn't mean I'll be the one starting it!"

Alya shrugged. "Better than nothing, I imagine. Now, you know his schedule back-and-forth. What's there at the museum that he could be interested in? Where can you take him to get him to open up a bit?"

Marinette hummed to herself. "That's a good question… let's look at the website and see what the current exhibits are. They're always something about Pharaohs, but I wonder if he'd be more interested in something Chinese…"

* * *

Adrien, meanwhile, was putting the finishing touches on his subterfuge. His iPod playing the piano piece he was supposed to be practicing, he surfed YouTube looking for just the right video.

"You know, Plagg, I'm not sure who in their right mind would upload a 10-hour-long video of someone snoring, but I'm glad they did it," Adrien confided. He connected the bluetooth speaker to his computer and put it next to his pillow. With the sheets pulled up how they were and the towels stuffed under the blanket, it passed remarkably for a sleeping teenager.

Adrien set the timer on his iPod to quit playing after 45 minutes. He set his computer to begin playing in 45 minutes, turned his Bluetooth speaker on, and checked his overnight bag. "Toothbrush… deodorant…"

"Cheese for me…" Plagg added. "I'm going to need lots of cheese to stay up all night with a bunch of lovesick, oblivious teenagers."

* * *

Meanwhile, in another corner of the Agreste mansion...

"Nathalie, do we have anything going on tonight?" Gabriel asked.

"There's a soccer match at the stadium, but I think you know how the last one turned out," Nathalie replied.

"Oh, _don't_ remind me. That was one of the worst ideas I've ever had, including improvising with that giant baby! All that one wanted to do was flip cars and get drunk… and that was after I akumatized him! I guess soccer fans are so used to disappointment that I had no control over him. I was about ready to cut his powers myself when Ladybug and Cat Noir showed up and defeated him in five minutes."

"I'm not sure that qualifies as saving face, sir," Nathalie chuckled.

Gabriel's face darkened. "What's the Bourgeois girl doing tonight? She's usually good for antagonizing somebody!"

"The Collège Françoise Dupont has an overnight outing at the Louvre," Nathalie said after checking her tablet. "Sir, I really don't think it's a good idea to keep targeting that school. What if Adrien gets caught in the crossfire?"

"This isn't at the school, so he'll be safe. I've got him too busy tonight, anyway. Let's send out a friend and wait for the magic to happen…" he got up and went to a portrait of his wife, pressed a few buttons, and disappeared down an elevator hidden in the floor.

 _Most people would be happy just sitting in front of the TV with a remote_ , Nathalie thought to herself. _I'll never figure out what I see in this man..._

* * *

7:45 arrived, and nine teenagers were waiting in the lobby of the Louvre.

Adrien Agreste was wearing a black t-shirt and black sweatpants with a green stripe on each leg.

Alix Kubdel complemented her bubblegum pink hair with a camouflage tank top and shorts ensemble. On her feet were her ever-present rollerblades.

Alya Cesaire wore her usual grey-and-purple pajamas.

Chloe Bourgeois was sporting a bright yellow-and-black robe, and, somehow, high-heeled slippers.

Marinette was wearing a spaghetti-strap top and pajama bottoms, both in her favorite color, pink.

Mylène had one of Ivan's black t-shirts on, obscuring any other clothes she may have been wearing underneath.

Nathaniel, clad in grey sweatpants and a red hoodie, was laden with art supplies, claiming that he wanted to be ready if inspiration struck.

Nino wore a navy blue t-shirt and jeans. "I actually don't own any pajamas," he whispered to Adrien. "I didn't think it would be cool to sleep in just my boxers in front of the ladies."

Adrien boggled at his best friend.

Sabrina had a purple Jagged Stone t-shirt on and blue plaid pajama bottoms.

Mr. Kubdel entered the lobby, smiling. "Hello, students! It's great to have you back this year! Tonight we're going to have fun, adventure, and hopefully learn a bit too along the way. Come, let me show you to your quarters for the evening," he chuckled.

The class followed him downstairs and down a hallway toward the back of the museum. Turning a corner to the left, they found themselves in a small auditorium. The desks and chairs had been put away, leaving four tiered surfaces for them to spread out on. "Lay out your sleeping bags here and get settled; we'll start the program in 15 minutes!" Mr. Kubdel called out, before turning on his heel and exiting the room.

There was general commotion as people got together and found prime spots for their sleeping bags. Chloe and Sabrina were next to each other, as expected - mostly because Sabrina was the one laying out Chloe's sleeping bag and unpacking her stuff. Alix, Mylene, and Nathaniel were one tier down. On the bottom tier, there was a strange dance going on as Alya kept trying to get herself between Nino and Marinette, all the while pushing Nino over to one side to force Marinette to put her sleeping bag next to Adrien's. Marinette finally gave in, rolling her eyes as Alya smiled wickedly at her.

As everyone finished unpacking their bags, Alix bounded down the tiers to the front of the room and grabbed a microphone. "OK, everyone, listen up! We're going to take the excitement up a notch here and make the museum fun! Who's with me?" She didn't bother waiting for a response before plunging forward, "I've got, right here," - she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it - "the HAWK MOTH CHALLENGE!"

Nathaniel's eyes bugged out of her head. "Alix, you can't be serious!"

"Hawk Moth has actually akumatized people at the challenge, you know!" Adrien added.

"What-ever, Ladybug and Cat Noir always show up and fix everything. Akumas might be scary and terrifying, but they're not exactly lethal. I don't think this is the best idea, but it's not like anyone's gonna get hurt. Besides, _you'll_ be here with me, Adri-kins," purred Chloe.

Marinette's skin crawled.

Alix cleared her throat and begun reading from her paper.

"We're gonna do a variation of it. I found a creepy old nursery rhyme since we're going to be shut in here all night. Let's tell ghost stories and see if Hawk Moth sends any butterflies! Are you ready?"

 _"Ten little children at a friend's house to dine..."_

"Hey! We are _not_ little children! We're like… fourteen or something," interrupted Chloe.

"Shhh!" Alya hushed.

Alix continued,

 _"...One choked his little self and then there were nine._

 _Nine little children staying up too late;_

 _One fell asleep early and then there were eight._

 _Eight little children gazing into heaven;_

 _One stayed too long and then there were seven._

 _Seven little children, each making their picks;_

 _One chose poorly and then there were six._

 _Six little children going for a drive;_

 _One got in a crash and then there were five._

 _Five little children wishing there's no more;_

 _One got his wish, and then there were four._

 _Four little children trying hard to see;_

 _One saw too much, and then there were three._

 _Three little children who don't know what to do;_

 _One got a bright idea and then there were two._

 _Two little children watching for the sun;_

 _One saw spots and then there was one._

 _One little child left all alone;_

 _His heart was broken and then there were none."_

"OK, that was actually kind of creepy," whispered Nathaniel.

"Whatever! You're honestly scared by a child's nursery rhyme? I've got a spooky ghost story for you: four friends and their dog are driving through the woods in their van…" The kids leaned in, listening as Mylène continued.

* * *

The classmates walked out of the auditorium and split up; the Hawk Moth Challenge had affected them more seriously than they would have initially imagined. Nino had attempted to play scary music for everybody after Mylène's story. Adrien had held a flashlight underneath his chin and told the worst campfire story ever ("I've never been camping," he explained sheepishly). Yet it was Nathaniel's eerie talent for quietly sneaking up on people that did everybody in, and earned him a trip to the restroom to get a cold towel for his face after Mylène accidentally slugged him in surprise.

Nobody noticed the purple-and-black butterfly flitting around near the ceiling, waiting for the right moment to strike. It flew off down a hallway, attracted by negative emotions, and struck while everyone's back was turned.

"You asked for me, you got me! I am Hawk Moth, and you are going to make everyone here feel as scared as you do right now. Scare them… then capture Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous when they show up. You know what to do…"

Purple-and-black bubbles enveloped the akuma victim, leaving a very familiar form. The akuma victim started off down the hallway, looking to strike fear in the assembled group.

* * *

Marinette ducked into an alcove and opened her purse. "Tikki, I don't think this is the best idea…"

Her kwami blinked back at her with big blue eyes. "Oh, Marinette, if there's an akuma, you can handle it! Plus, maybe you can rescue _Adrien_ tonight, too. Wouldn't that be fabulous?"

"I can barely remember how to speak around him! But I did some research before I came here," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "There's an exhibit about ancient Chinese warlords over in the other wing. Maybe we can sneak off…" Her twinkling eyes glazed over as she imagined Adrien confessing true love to her and sweeping her off her feet in front of the Genghis Khan display.

Marinette's daydream was interrupted by a loud noise from another part of the museum. "What was that? Let's go check it out!"

* * *

Hawk Moth's minion found the first victim at the drinking fountain. Turning around, he wiped his mouth and waved at his friend. "There you are! Are you ready for… what are you doing? NOOOOOOO!"

A smile. Then, an even brighter smile. _This is going to be fun._

Eight people ran to the source of the noise.

* * *

"NOOOOOOO!" The cry echoed off the hallways of the nearly-deserted museum.

Marinette looked at Tikki, who darted into her purse, and took off running. When she got to where she thought the noise came from, she found eight other students, a nervous-looking adult, and a semi-translucent shell surrounding someone at the drinking fountain. Inside, a figure dressed in dark clothing was barely visible.

"Hawk Moth!" gasped a stunned Alix, mortified.

"I told you this was a bad idea…" breathed Mylène.

Mr. Kubdel looked around at the assembled group. "Seven… eight… where's Nino?"

Everyone's eyes jumped to the shell.

Alya screamed. Marinette and Adrien ran over to hug her.

"I think… we should try to get Ladybug and Cat Noir here, don't you think?" Mr. Kubdel suggested. Eight cell phones were produced and unlocked, followed by eight groans.

"No service?! This is ridiculous," Chloé spat.

"Let's go to the lobby," offered Mylène. "We might get some better service at the upper levels of the museum."

Sabrina quailed. "You can go do that… I just want to lay down and rest. I'll see you back in the auditorium." She left the group and headed to her sleeping back in the other room, while Mr. Kubdel led the way upstairs.

When they got there, the group was crestfallen as it was obvious that the security features of the museum weren't going to let anybody out anytime soon. There was still no cell service, and now it was very clear to them that they were trapped for the rest of the night in a museum, potentially with a dangerous akuma on the loose.

Five pairs of eyes looked at each other.

"We should probably stick together," whispered Nathaniel, nervously.

Five pairs of feet shuffled slowly downstairs.

On the way back to the auditorium, Mr. Kubdel passed the Egypt exhibit and started talking about the various details, in an effort to distract the schoolchildren. Since the schoolchildren were very willing to be distracted, Mr. Kubdel led them over to a display of hieroglyphics and started telling the assembled group about how the Egyptians understood astronomy.

Chloé sneaked away from the group. On her way out, she passed Adrien, Alya, and Marinette and told them, "I'm going to check on Sabrina. It's not like her to go to bed this early, and she seemed really nervous. I don't want her to be alone." She continued to the auditorium.

Mr. Kubdel may have thought Egyptians and astronomy were fascinating, but the students definitely did not. One by one, they slowly peeled off to explore other, more interesting areas of the museum. Eventually, it was only poor Mylène, too polite to say anything, left listening to Mr. Kubdel drone on.

Eight pairs of ears heard a scream from the auditorium.

Six pairs of feet came running.

* * *

Nathaniel was the first on the scene. He stopped suddenly and, mouth agape, could only point at the two frozen figures in front of him.

Marinette ran up next to him. She saw Sabrina, on her back, asleep except for the odd situation of her floating about four inches above the ground. Chloe was next to her, eyes wide open. The only indication that Chloe wasn't frozen like Sabrina was the slow intake of breath indicating that another scream was coming.

"Breathe, Chloe. We're here now. What happened?"

"Sa… Sa… Sabri…" she stammered out.

One by one, the other students filed into the room. Adrien burst between them and yelled, "She's frozen! The akuma must have gotten her! Chloe! Are you ok?"

"Adri-kins! I'm fine… but Sabrina, she's… THIS! What are we going to do?" Chloe collapsed theatrically into Adrien's arms and started sobbing.

Marinette gave Chloe a look. Adrien was lamely patting her on the back and sheepishly grinned back at Marinette, shrugging as if to say, _What can you do?_

"OK, well, there are seven of us here. Eight, if you count Dad. Where is he?" Alix turned around.

"Right here, honey." Mr. Kubdel appeared at her side. "Another one? Oh, no… they're never going to let us do this program again, and it's so much fun. Why, we were just talking so much about astronomy…" he trailed off.

"Let's do a headcount," Mr. Kubdel said. "Me, Alix, Alya, Adrien, Chloe, Marinette, Nathaniel… where's Mylène? I thought she was behind me when we came here from the astronomy exhibit."

Seven pairs of eyes traded a glance.

Seven pairs of feet took off, staying together this time.

Seven people found Mylène, staring as if in deep in thought, at the astronomy exhibit.

Seven people looked at each other once again, wonder and suspicion… and a little fear, too, in their eyes.


	2. Seven to Four

Just a short time ago, nine students and a friendly museum curator were about to have an exciting night. As exciting as a night locked inside the Louvre could be, that is. Now, there were six students, a very worried museum curator, and nothing other than the strong desire to get Ladybug and Cat Noir to rescue their friends in the air.

"Alix! This was your idea!" yelled Chloe.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know this was going to happen?" the pink-haired girl snapped back.

"It was your stupid poem that started this all, and it looks like it's coming true… bit by bit. Where's that piece of paper?"

Alix pulled it out of her pocket. Chloe snatched it and read:

 _"Ten little children at a friend's house to dine;_

 _One choked his little self and then there were nine._

"You see! Nino was at the water fountain taking a drink!

 _"Nine little children staying up too late;_

 _One fell asleep early and then there were eight._

"Sabrina went to bed early on the night that we're supposed to be awake until morning!

 _"Eight little children gazing into heaven;_

 _One stayed too long and then there were seven._

"And poor Mylène was found _where?!_ Next to the astronomy exhibit! It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure it out - you're behind all of this, and I'm going to make sure it stops or I'm not Queen Bee!"

Adrien moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Actually, you're not Queen Bee right now. You don't have the comb in your hair. And I'm pretty sure nobody here is Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, or Carapace, either."

Alya opened her mouth and quickly shut it.

Marinette's mind was racing. _How do I get away from here and get Ladybug to solve this? How can I explain Ladybug's even BEING here when there's been no indication that something is wrong and no signal to the outside world? I never thought I'd be in a situation where getting alone time with Adrien was SECOND priority, but here we are._

"We should split up!" Marinette blurted out. "Let's search the museum for the akuma!"

"I'm not going alone," whispered Nathaniel. "I know I draw a comic book where I'm a mighty hero, but I don't think I'm going to do anything but lose if I face an akuma armed with only art supplies."

"Pair up, then. I'll keep you safe and I'm a real superhero," Chloe said confidently. "You have nothing to fear because the akuma is going to want _nothing_ to do with me."

Mr. Kubdel drew Alix closer to him. "That's a good idea, Chloe. I'll go with Alix and see what we can find."

Looking at Marinette and Adrien, Alya said, "WELL, I DON'T WANT TO BE THE THIRD WHEEL HERE! I'll just go with… um…" She looked at Chloe and winced. Superhero or not, Alya and Chloe still got along about as well as oil and water.

"It's no problem at all, Alya!" chuckled Adrien. "You two are best friends, anyway, so I'm probably the third wheel here."

Alya's eyes rolled so hard she almost pulled a muscle.

Marinette reached out and took her hand. "It's OK, Alya. We've got this."

"There are three levels here. Chloe and Nathaniel, you take the top level. Since there are three of you, Adrien, Alya, and Marinette take the main level. Alix and I will take the bottom level. Return back here in half an hour with your findings." Mr. Kubdel intoned, setting a timer on his watch.

"Good luck."

* * *

"So...do you really think Mighty-Illustrator could take Queen Wasp in a fight?" Chloe asked Nathaniel once they had reached the top level.

"Ummm… well, Queen Wasp was pretty powerful… and it was a team-up with Ladybug, who is amazing, so…" Nathaniel stammered, unsure of where Chloe was heading with this line of questioning.

"She _is_ amazing, isn't she? I'm so glad she chose me, her _biggest fan_ , to be her partner! It's like a dream come true!" _She even gave me a second chance after I tried to prove myself by fixing a problem I actually caused._

"So… you've always wanted to be a superhero, then, Chloe?" Nathaniel offered. _It's weird to hear Chloe talk about a subject without being condescending._

"Well, not really, but with Ladybug on the scene, someone so brave, and amazing, and beautiful, how could I not want to be just like her? I'm amazing, beautiful, and I can be brave when I'm Queen Bee…"

Chloe's rambling list of qualities her and Ladybug shared went largely unheard. _You're not the first person that comes to mind when I think of amazing, brave, and beautiful_. A dark-haired figure began to take shape in his mind, which he quickly shook his head to clear. _Focus, Nate! You've got a job to do!_

* * *

Alix and Mr. Kubdel were exploring the bottom level, traipsing their way through boxes and exhibit parts in a long-disused storage room.

"Dad, our ancestor wouldn't have made any special watches to help defeat akumas, would he have?"

"Unfortunately, no, honey. And the secrets that make the superheroes are so obscure, there's been very little confirmed evidence of them. Why, there used to be a Ladybug in ancient Egypt, and another one here in France many generations ago… but nobody knows the origins of them. I might be able to do some research, but after tonight, I'm not even sure I'll be allowed in the museum again."

Alix frowned. "I'm sorry, Dad. Let's do what we can here and get out of this nightmare."

They exited the storage room and Alix put her rollerblades back on. "I'm going to hit the little girls' room real quick," she announced, and skated off before her dad could protest.

Mr. Kubdel turned to face his daughter's retreating form, weakly raising a hand and opening his mouth in protest. _I'm not sure I'll ever catch up with her. Might as well move to the next room…_

He opened the door to a janitor's closet and was assaulted by a cascade of mops and brooms. Staggering backwards and dusting himself off, he glanced into the closet and noted that everything seemed normal. After closing the door, he went to the utility room across the hall and opened the door, pausing briefly to note a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

"Back so soon? I would have expected you to take a lot... _mmmmmph!_ "

* * *

Adrien, Alya, and Marinette were exploring a fine arts exhibit looking for out-of-place things when Alya grabbed Marinette, smiled sweetly at Adrien, and said, "Just a moment, 'kay?" before dragging her over to a corner bench to sit down. Adrien, for his part, played along by moving as far away as possible and studying a Van Gogh so close he could count each individual brush stroke.

"Girl, I am trying so hard to get you two together, and you haven't said a word to him all night long! When are you going to take some initiative and just tackle him already?" Alya was ready to shake Marinette out of frustration, so she just sat on her hands instead.

"In case you haven't noticed, there's an akuma on the loose in the museum, and that's our first priority. Not sneaking away and making googly eyes at Adrien… which I can do from here, thank you very much." As if to illustrate her point, Marinette stared off into space, dreamily.

Alya laughed in response. "You've got it _sooooo baaaaad_ , Marinette. You really need to do something about this. Why would you suggest splitting up if it weren't to get with Adrien in the first place, huh?"

"We're supposed to find the akuma before it finds someone else! I mean, I don't know what we'll do… maybe we can trap it or something, or capture the butterfly once we free it… but we can't just sit here and do nothing! I feel helpless… more helpless than trying to talk to Adrien, if you can believe that." She stood up and began pacing, winding up in front of a Renoir. "I feel like the girl with the glass."

Alya joined her, indicating a gentleman in the painting. "And that's the one, there, the guy with the raised hand?"

"Yes."

"Is she in love with him?"

"Yes."

"The time has come for her to take some real risks."

"Well yes, she's thinking about it. She's thinking of a stratagem."

"Yes, she likes stratagems, doesn't she?"

"Yes." Both girls giggled.

"What you _need_ to do, is take a cue from our spotted heroine and just say _bye-bye, little butterfly_ to all the ones that collect in your stomach whenever Adrien is around. You've mastered talking to him on video chat, but whenever you are around him, you vapor-lock. C'mon, girl, say it with me: _bye-bye, little…_ "

Alya's chant was interrupted by the power going out. Darkness enveloped the teens until a few security lights up the hall cast eerie shadows across their faces. Eyes wide and mouths agape, they could only stand there while shock and terror overtook them, until a cry from deep within the museum set them running.

* * *

Passing a flushed Adrien, Alya and Marinette charged down the stairs, nearly knocking over Chloe and Nathaniel, who were coming down from the top level. While the four classmates steadied themselves, Adrien finished the job Alya and Marinette started by crashing into them at near-full speed, causing them to tumble down the flight of stairs to the next landing.

A muffled voice spoke from the tangle of bodies. "Everybody OK?"

"Fine."

"Ow."

"Mmph."

"Get - OFF - of me!" Chloe snarled, pushing her way out of the bottom of the pile. Smoothing her hair, she started down the stairs, thought better of it, and turned to help the other four up.

Continuing down as a group, Alya asked Adrien, "Do you have that flashlight handy?"

"Flashlight?" Adrien looked confused.

"You know, the one you used to tell that story about the yellow ribbon," Alya prompted.

"Oh! That one! Was that tonight? Seems like so long ago…" Adrien continued, "I don't have it with me. I think it's still in the auditorium."

"Hang on," Nathaniel interrupted. "Chloe, get out your phone." Once Chloe did that, Nathaniel turned his phone's light on and aimed it at Chloe's diamond-encrusted phone case, illuminating nearly the entire museum.

"Bright light! Bright light!" Adrien cried, covering his face with his hands.

Marinette lowered Nathaniel's phone. "Why don't we save the light show until we get out of here safely. Until then, just one phone light at a time so we can conserve battery power."

The group continued downstairs, where they encountered Alix, nervously skating in circles.

"Guys… my dad. We got separated and I can't find him! And now the power went out and I… I just…" The usually super-confident Alix deflated in front of everybody. "Let's go find him."

Six little collègiens proceeded down the hall. Knocking on doors and calling into rooms, Marinette took point as the group went deeper into the museum like trick-or-treaters who didn't want to find the trick and weren't in the mood for any treats. The second-to-last door on the right had a pile of brooms next to it. Stepping cautiously around them, Marinette opened the door to the utility closet and gasped.

Over her shoulder, Alya shone a light into the room.

Six pairs of eyes saw Mr. Kubdel standing at the master breaker, hand on a lever very clearly turned to OFF. He was looking back at them, a mixture of shock and sadness on his face.

"Dad…?" Alix offered.

* * *

Mr. Kubdel didn't respond.

"...Dad?..." Alix said again, moving gingerly forward.

Mr. Kubdel didn't acknowledge his daughter. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Adrien pushed through the small crowd and waved his hand in front of Mr. Kubdel's eyes. Nothing. He poked Mr. Kubdel in the side to no reaction. Finally, he attempted to move the lever on the circuit breaker back to the ON position. Adrien couldn't budge it.

"He's frozen, like the others," Adrien explained. "But since he's frozen in this position, it also means that this lever is frozen, too! We're stuck in here with no power… and an akuma... until the morning."

* * *

Back in the auditorium, Alya spoke up. "Alix, what happened?"

"I don't know!" the petite girl responded. "We were searching the lower level like we planned, and I had to go to the little girls' room. The power went out while I was in there. I found you all just after I got out of there. I didn't want to be down here by myself," she concluded.

"What about your phone? Why didn't you just turn the light on and go look for him?" Alya asked.

Alix mumbled something that sounded like " _dropped-it-in-the-toilet"_.

It was Chloe's turn to question Alix as she barged in with "Well _you_ said that you couldn't find him anywhere! How could you not find him if you _didn't even look_?!"

Alix straightened up and got in Chloe's face. "I thought he would have followed me! We weren't supposed to split up, and he knows this place better than everyone else! I thought he would be safe for _thirty seconds_ unsupervised!"

"Seeing as how this was, again, _all your idea_ , and it was the person _you_ were paired with that got attacked this time…"

"That doesn't prove anything!" Alix retorted.

"THE STUPID NURSERY RHYME SAYS IT WAS YOU!" Chloe yelled, visibly losing her composure. "Get it out! You'll see!"

Alix pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it.

"Read!" Chloe commanded.

Alix cleared her throat and read,

 _"Seven little children, each making their picks;_

 _One chose poorly and then there were six."_

"You SEE?" thundered the blonde, towering over Alix. "We all picked our partners for splitting up! Mr. Kubdel _obviously_ chose _poorly_ , because his little girl froze him! Well, I, for one, am _not_ going to stand for this anymore! When we get out of here, I'm going to have my daddy do SOMETHING with you, and then I'm going to go with Ladybug and stop Hawk Moth once and for all!"

Alya and Marinette coughed nervously.

Alix stood there with her mouth open, not saying anything. After a few seconds, she abruptly turned around and skated to the corner of the auditorium, where she slumped down and started crying softly.

"Chloe…" Nathaniel said, causing her to whirl and face him. "Are you saying that _Alix_ is the akuma?"

"Isn't it the obvious conclusion? She was the last person alone with her dad, and he's frozen now! Who else could it be?"

Alya's eyes lit up, and Marinette sensed her best friend's investigative techniques kicking in full steam.

"OK, Chloe, you do have a point. But in fairness to our friend, let's see what we can rule out so far." Alya started pacing as everyone prepared for the whirlwind. "We can rule out for sure four people: Nino, Sabrina, Mylène, and Mr. Kubdel. That leaves the six of us - _yes, including you Chloe, we're being fair, remember?_ Was there anyone else in the museum? A night watchman or gift shop employee who was working late, for example?"

"Nobody," Alix sniffed from the corner. "Dad always prided himself on being trustworthy enough to have a group of kids over here without any extra help or any accidents. He's been doing it like that for as long as I can remember."

"How about anyone able to get into the museum from the outside? Maybe Hawkmoth didn't send a butterfly this time; maybe he sent an akuma to hide in here and terrorize us!"

"How could it have gotten in, though?" asked Marinette. "The security system has this place locked down tight."

"It might be easy, after all, when I was an akuma, I got into your bedroom without much effort," Nathaniel said, blushing to match his hoodie.

Alya saved her friend's brain from completely melting by stepping in front of her and saying "OKAY! So, we split up and didn't find anything, so maybe there isn't anybody in here… but maybe there is. Did anyone manage to complete the level they were searching?"

" _I_ did," said Chloe. "But that doesn't matter since the akuma - _assuming_ it's not Alix - could have just sneaked up there after we all left. We'll have to pair off again and start over. C'mon, tomato boy," she grabbed a still-flushed Nathaniel and stormed out of the auditorium, her phone lighting the way.

Adrien, Alix, Alya, and Marinette stared after the departing duo.

"Soooo… pair up again?" Adrien said tentatively.

"We… can…" muttered Alya, "but I'm not so sure it's a good idea for any of us to be alone with any other one of us…" she glanced at Alix.

The insinuation was too much for her. "Fine, fine, FINE! I GET IT!" Alix skated over to the three friends and started circling them. "YOU think I did it, too, and I DIDN'T. I don't know how to make it up to you or get back into your trust… except these are _my friends_ too, and that was _my dad_ who's not only frozen, but is also the only one who is going to get in trouble after all of this is over with! And yeah," she took a breath, "maybe this was my idea in the first place, and it was a dumb idea, and I've gotta pay for that a bit too. So," she pirouetted to a stop and put her hands on the girls' shoulders. "I'm the fastest. I can cover the most ground out of everyone here. _And_ , I know the museum the best, too. I'll prove it to you - I'll prove it to all of you. _I. Didn't. Do. It._ "

And quick like a rabbit, she grabbed the flashlight and was off, with Marinette calling after her, "Wait! Alix!"

"I'm going to give you girls some more alone time, if that's OK with you," Adrien said.

"It's actually _not_ , now that you mention it," Alya returned.

Adrien pinked. "I can count on two fingers the number of people who will be uncomfortable being in the restroom with me."

"We'll wait outside," stammered Marinette.

* * *

Time passed.

* * *

Alix's mind was racing as fast as her skates. _That was an… interesting conversation. I wonder if this will work? I can take the heat for a while longer and not crack, but I'm not the best actor in the world. Heck, I'm not even the best actor in the building! Still, if it puts an end to this quickly, I'll do it._

* * *

The unlikely pair of Chloe and Nathaniel continued their bonding over Ladybug. Nathaniel was quiet, but made for a good listener as far as Chloe was concerned. He had been listening to Chloe go on and on for what seemed like five minutes before she turned around and blinked into the shadows. "Have you even _heard_ what I've been saying?" she huffed.

"Oh, yeah, sorry… distracted. Inspiration," he grunted. Chloe noticed that he had pulled out a tiny sketchpad and was hurriedly putting pencil to paper.

"If that's a commission for Ladybug, let me know," she grinned. "If it's any good, I might have her sign it for you. And maybe one for me, too," she added as an afterthought. "Wait… did you hear something? Let's go check it out!"

* * *

Adrien re-emerged from the restroom and met up with Alya and Marinette. "Ready, musketeers? Let's get to the bottom of this! But, really… we should start at the top."

"The top? Why do you want to start there?" Marinette gave him a puzzled look.

"Well… maybe cell service has been restored. I can call my bodyguard and have him pick us all up."

Alya stepped in front of him, hands on her hips. "Adrien, honey, how would he get past the security system?"

"Have you _seen_ the man, Alya? He's not called The Gorilla for nothing. I didn't even notice that much of a change in him when he was akumatized," he chuckled, heading towards the stairs.

"Alya!" hissed Marinette. "You called him _honey_?!"

"See how easy it is, girl? You should try it!" Alya nudged her with her hip, and with a big wink, grabbed her hand and took off after Adrien.

* * *

The three friends reached the top of the stairs.

"If I never… climb… stairs… again… it will be… too soon," panted Alya. "My quads are on FIRE."

"Sit down and rest here on this bench, I'm going to walk around and see if I can get any bars," directed Adrien.

Marinette pulled Alya down next to her as Adrien walked toward a window, slowly waving his phone. "I don't like this, Alya. I don't even know what we're up against. I'd rather go up against something I know than a shadow."

"You know Adrien and you can't even _speak_ to him. You're amazing at standing up for yourself! You can lead an entire class to safety against an akuma. You make sure everyone is treated fairly… most of the time. You should be able to just put some sentences together around that poor boy, face-to-face, and at least talk to him like a normal human being. I bet if you started doing that, you would get where you needed to be faster than you could believe!"

"I've been getting better, Alya, and you know it. I'm trying to be his friend, first and foremost. He's such a sweetheart and even though I may be a little obsessed with him, I'm getting over that! My heart just gets in the way of my voice sometimes," she sighed. "Butterflies just seem to have it out for me and my social life, I guess," she added absently. _Oops - was that out loud?_

"Err.. what do you mean by that?"

"Well, if you think about it, it was a butterfly that wrecked my cinema date with Adrien. It was a butterfly that showed ALL OF PARIS AND POSSIBLY THE WORLD my crush. It was a butterfly that wrecked Operation: Secret Garden." _And I have to show up whenever there's a stupid butterfly, regardless of what I'm doing. If I ever have a spa day and it's interrupted by a butterfly, I'm going to scream._

"That's… remarkably unfortunate. I never thought about it, but you do seem to attract butterflies like, um, moths to a flame? Hawk Moths to a flame? Hang on, there's a right way to say it, but I can't figure it out."

Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend. "You should leave the puns to Cat Noir."

"Wait, you know Cat Noir?" Alya was about to sink her hooks into this new line of questioning when a loud crash came from nearby on the top level. Pulling each other to their feet, they ran past Adrien, who was muttering to himself and staring at his phone. His head snapped up and he stared after them for a couple of seconds before following.

* * *

Adrien, Alya, Marinette, and Nathaniel gathered around the pile of bodies on the floor. Alix was whimpering, clutching her knee. Chloe looked like she was about to yell her head off again.

"Sorry… oww… didn't see her… hurt my knee. Is Chloe OK?"

Adrien leaned in to examine the blonde more closely. "Well, she's not dead, and she doesn't appear to be injured," he determined. "But… she is frozen. Looks like the akuma got her, too."

"One more of us who's been proven innocent… too late!" Alya exclaimed.

Four pairs of eyes turned to the pink-haired girl.

* * *

"I swear," Alix whispered, "it wasn't me." Her voice shook. "I don't know how to prove it to you, except to out-last all of you. And in order to do that, I need to be alone. Because one of you is going to get me. I'm going to win this. I'm going to be the last one standing when Ladybug arrives and makes all of this better. You'll see," she muttered, picking up the dropped flashlight and turning it on.

"You'll all see."

She took off on her skates again, grinding the escalator rail down to the middle level, and taking off.

* * *

Four people stood in a square, facing each other, none being the first to take their eyes off of everyone else.

A rumbling stomach broke the tension.

"Did anyone bring snacks?" Adrien asked.

"There are some snacks down in the auditorium," Marinette said. "I brought some macarons and croissants to munch on."

Adrien looked at her gratefully. "OK, let's go, then!"

Four pairs of feet stood still.

"Hmm… we should probably figure something out. OK, everyone, put a hand in front of you," Marinette directed. "Now, move forward until we can each grasp hands." The foursome inched toward each other. Once they had stacked hands in the middle, Marinette continued "Put your other hand on the shoulder of the person next to you. That way, we all know where everybody else is and what they're up to."

Four pairs of feet shuffled toward the stairs.

"OK, one stair at a time, and we'll just go down together!"

"And if we trip, we'll all go down together. Got it," Alya chuckled. "Look at us, all bunched together, holding hands. We're like a _looooove square_ or something."

Three pairs of eyes looked at the brunette as her chuckle became an uncontrollable giggle, which turned into a fit of laughter, which turned into Alya leaning heavily on Marinette in an effort to stay upright.

"I don't see how this is funny, Alya," Adrien intoned.

"I don't see how it's _not_!" she wheezed. "Look at us! This is absurd! Here I thought we were going to be looking at boring museum exhibits for a while and then sneaking off to spend the rest of the night making out."

The other three traded glances.

"Instead, we're doing an elaborate dance just to _walk down the stairs_. I don't know what Hawk Moth is getting out of this, but I hope he's having a blast. A BLAST, DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU —"

Nathaniel's face turned red again at the stream of profanity coming out of Alya's mouth.

* * *

After Alya collected herself, the four friends made their way down the rest of the stairs. Inching their way to the auditorium (and studiously ignoring Sabrina's floating body), they surrounded Marinette's bag as she unloaded some boxes of pastries from her parents' bakery.

"Mmm, these are delicious, Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed.

Alya gave Marinette a triumphant look, a big wink, and then tore into her own croissant, noting Marinette putting a macaron into her purse but not saying anything about it.

After the boxes were nearly empty, Marinette looked around at her satisfied friends.

"We should probably save something for Alix," Nathaniel suggested. "She'll be hungry soon; all that skating has got to be tiring her out."

"Pair up for the lav?" Adrien suggested, fingers glistening with butter.

With nods of assent, the girls and boys each ducked into their respective restroom to wash their hands. Two minutes later, three people emerged. They found a person in a red hoodie standing over an open pastry box.

"Couldn't resist, could you?" called Alya with a snort.

The fourth person didn't answer.

"Something's wrong, Alya," Marinette warned.

"Everything's wrong. I can't believe it," said Alya.

Alya walked over to the fourth person, who was clearly frozen. She flipped down the red hood.

Everyone gasped at the pink hair underneath.

"I… don't understand," Adrien stammered. "Where's Nathaniel?"

"Where is he, indeed?" Alya answered.

In a too-quiet museum, three pairs of eyes looked at each other.


	3. Four to Three

"Nathaniel," Alya muttered.

"I can't believe it," Marinette said.

Adrien said nothing.

"Anyone have that poem? Maybe that can give us a clue to his intentions." Alya rummaged through Alix's pockets until she found a folded-up piece of paper. Unfolding it, she read,

 _"Six little children going for a drive;_

 _One got in a crash and then there were five."_

"Well, that was pretty accurate," commented Marinette.

 _"Five little children wishing there's no more;_

 _One got his wish and then there were four._

 _"Four little children trying hard to see;_

 _One saw too much, and then there were three."_

Alya hummed. "Alix didn't seem like she was wishing for it all to end… but you know her, she's not exactly the sensitive, wears-her-heart-on-her-sleeve type. Like _some_ people here," she added blithely.

Marinette joined Adrien in silence.

"Trying hard to see… trying hard to see… what could that mean? Is there an observatory here? I guess we should avoid it if there is one… but if we don't know there's one, then it won't be hard to avoid it… but if we go there, then… turn around?" Alya was pacing, thinking out loud, building up enough of a head of steam that Marinette was getting slightly jealous.

"What we need to do is find Nathaniel," Marinette said, determination in her voice. "We can sit down here and do nothing and be scared and just wait… but I don't think that's right. I don't want life to just happen to us. And if we go down against the akuma, then we go down together, trying to fight it."

Adrien looked at her and smiled.

"Hear, hear, girl," agreed Alya. "So, we have Nathaniel hiding somewhere in the museum. We're at a disadvantage as none of us has searched the museum top-to-bottom. But in the top two levels, did anyone see any effective hiding places? No place to stash a body or hang out undisturbed for a few hours?"

 _If I had found one, Ladybug would have been here by now and we just might be out of this mess, and I can get back to plan "A" for this evening_. _Well, who says that I can't at least try to get what I want?_ "How about we just visit some exhibits? At the very least, we can enjoy our time here while guarding against a crazy akuma. There are some really nice Chinese exhibits down the hall, why don't we check those out?"

Alya shot her best friend a knowing glance and mouthed the word, "stratagem". "Yesss… let's go see some Chinese. C'mon, you two!" She grabbed Adrien with one hand, Marinette with the other, and strolled down the hall, the light of Marinette's phone leading the way.

* * *

Time passed in front of the Genghis Khan exhibit without much happening. Marinette tried more than a few times to engage Adrien in conversation, but everything fell flat.

 _Think, Marinette. You're actually getting sentences out, but he's not responding. Of course, his best friend was the first victim tonight… he's probably trying to figure this out like the rest of us. I need to be more sensitive to his needs here._

Marinette shot Alya a desperate look. _Help me get out of this,_ it said.

"Let's look at the scenes of the crimes," Alya suggested. "Maybe we can find a clue or two there to tell us what happened and what's going on."

Adrien and Marinette shrugged. They had wandered throughout the museum examining exhibits and looking for hiding places. Adrien still hadn't opened up like Marinette thought he would have, and not having found Nathaniel yet had prevented them from fully relaxing.

 _Maybe that's why Adrien isn't loosening up_ , Marinette thought to herself. _I admit, I'm not at my best either right now, and looking for someone in red while waiting for someone ELSE in red to show up…_ "What was Nathaniel wearing underneath that hoodie? Did anyone notice?"

"He usually wears a red t-shirt, so maybe that's what he had on underneath the hoodie. Besides, his hair's red enough as it is, I don't think that's hard to disguise. Just keep an eye out for red," Alya answered.

 _That's exactly what we're waiting for,_ thought Adrien and Marinette together, but neither one of them knew it.

* * *

The three friends stood in front of the drinking fountain, the light from Alya's phone illuminating the semi-transparent shell that surrounded the dark-clad first victim.

"Nino…" Alya murmured, placing her hand on the shell. The light cast an eerie glow, sending the inside of the shell into shadows.

"Here's where it all began," Marinette said. "But actually, it began earlier, didn't it? Hawk Moth had to isolate someone and akumatize them, so maybe we should look at where people were before this all started. Let's review, shall we?"

Alya jumped in, "That's a good idea. So we started with the nursery rhyme from Alix. Then it was… Mylène with her story about those kids solving mysteries with their dog in a van. What was next?"

"Nino tried to play some spooky music for us, but nobody could hear it since all he had was his headphones," Alya remembered.

Adrien's face fell. "After that was the campfire story. That didn't work at all," he chuckled.

"We all split up afterwards… oh! It was because Nathaniel kept sneaking up on people and scaring them."

"I wonder if he was already an akuma beforehand?" wondered Alya. "He's certainly made use of his talent for moving around silently."

* * *

"After we found Nino, we went upstairs and tried to get a cell signal or an escape route," Alya continued. "Well, all of us except Sabrina, that is. She came back down here, alone, to lay down." She gestured to the auditorium.

"And then Chloe came down to check on her," added Marinette.

"She passed us on the way down," Alya commented.

"And then we heard a scream…" continued Marinette.

"And then we came running to the auditorium, where we saw Chloe standing over Sabrina…" Alya took a few steps and stopped in the auditorium door.

Adrien walked up behind her. "But Nathaniel was there first… aside from Chloe. And they wound up teaming up together when we split up. You don't think Chloe was fixing another problem she caused, do you?"

Marinette paused. "No, I don't think she was. She learned from that experience with the mayor that akumas can be serious business. Maybe. I don't know. She did have that party afterwards, but Ladybug must have seen something in her to choose to give the miraculous to her again." _And I hope I wasn't wrong. Master Fu seemed to trust my judgment… and I'd rather not betray that trust._

"Regardless, she couldn't have been who got Mylène, because she was down here when that happened. And if Nathaniel was here first, that also strongly suggests that he didn't do it."

"I don't know why anyone would voluntarily team up with an akuma," Adrien mused. "Isn't that just as bad as being the akuma yourself?"

"Or worse, because you're knowingly partnering with Hawk Moth. I can't imagine anyone would want to do that," Marinette finished for him.

"Good point. Let's go visit Mylène," suggested Alya.

* * *

"Weren't you the one complaining about climbing the stairs earlier?" teased Adrien.

"Shut… up…" panted Alya.

* * *

The trio made it to the astronomy exhibit, where Mylène was still staring at the hieroglyphics.

"I'm not sure what we'll find here, Alya," said Marinette. "Nobody was up here except for Mylène and the akuma, as far as we can tell."

Alya hummed in response. "Who was the last one down to the auditorium when we discovered Sabrina?"

"It was Mr. Kubdel, I think. Which gave him an opportunity, since he was the last person with Mylène. I know I wandered off right when he was building up a head of steam," Adrien reflected. "I think Chloe wound up cornering me somewhere and talking my head off about something else, though, so I'm not sure if I won that round." He shrugged.

"Speaking of Mr. Kubdel, he was the next victim," Marinette said. "Alya, that's down in the lowest level, then back up here for Chloe, and then back again to the auditorium for Alix. Why don't we rest here and talk it out for a bit?"

Alya smiled at her friend gratefully. "Girl, you don't even know." She sat down on a bench and stretched her legs, then leaned back. "Let's talk more about who was last seen with who. We don't know who was with Nino last, because we were all scattered. Sabrina was with Chloe last. Mylène was with Mr. Kubdel last. Mr. Kubdel was with Alix last. Chloe was with Nathaniel last. And the last person that we know with Alix _had to be_ Nathaniel since she was wearing his hoodie, and he still had it on when we were eating snacks." Alya tapped her lips thoughtfully. "What if there's more than one akuma?"

"Impossible," Marinette interjected. "He can only make one at a time, unless it multiplies."

"I'll ignore how you are so sure about that, Marinette, _for now_ , but what if he makes an akuma that gives him the power to make more akumas?"

Adrien and Marinette's ears both perked up at that, but neither one of them noticed.

"We would notice if that would happen, I'm pretty sure, Alya," Adrien smirked. "Hundreds of butterflies flitting around Paris would be the most frightening thing I could think of… except for maybe an evil Ladybug fighting Cat Noir and taking his Miraculous."

 _That's oddly specific,_ thought Marinette. _I'm really glad we haven't seen anything like either of those yet. And I hope we never do._

"OK, fine," continued Alya. "Akumas fighting each other doesn't benefit Hawk Moth at all. But what if he just switches who the akumatized person is in order to confuse us? So let's say, for the sake of argument, that Mr. Kubdel was the original akuma. He takes out Nino, Sabrina, and Mylène… but then the heat is on him too closely, so Hawk Moth takes his butterfly and 'gives' it to Alix. I'm pretty sure that by this point, everyone is so amped up that we'd be easy prey.

"Alix immediately freezes her dad so he can't say what happened, and then has to get Chloe next because Chloe is being very loud about akumatized Alix. Hawk Moth can't trust her anymore, though, because she's not quiet and people would hear her coming a mile away on those rollerblades. The first time we separate, _BOOM!_ , Alix is forced to give up the butterfly to Nathaniel, who is now somewhere in the museum."

"That's very good, Alya, except for one important point: _how did Mr. Kubdel catch Sabrina?_ " Marinette reasoned.

"Alix said it herself: her dad knew the museum like the back of his hand. He probably knew where there was a service elevator he could use to sneak away for thirty seconds, tops, and freeze Sabrina. I bet he even has a key for the elevator so he didn't even have to wait for it."

"That's a very interesting strategy," Adrien said, so quietly the girls thought he was talking to himself. "If he's not doing it tonight, I can imagine he'll try it soon."

* * *

"Let's cover our other line of suspicion, here, first: that Nathaniel was akumatized before all of this started," Marinette sat down next to Alya.

"He moves so quietly and stealthily that he could be over there in the shadows without us even knowing it. Especially since he's not wearing that bright red hoodie anymore," continued Marinette. "He could easily have sneaked up behind Nino, followed Sabrina to the auditorium, stayed behind and got Mylène, surprised Mr. Kubdel, froze Chloe - he was her partner, remember - and then tagged Alix when she stopped for a snack."

"I'm going to poke two holes in your theory right away, girl, and I'm sorry. How did Nathaniel both stay behind to get Mylène _and_ be the first one on the scene when Chloe found Sabrina? I don't think he could move that quickly," Alya folded her arms.

"He didn't," Marinette countered. "Mylène would have been the last one to arrive if Mr. Kubdel wasn't holding her up. I bet Nathaniel sneaked away while we were all downstairs and got Mylène before she could come down and join us."

Alya looked less certain, but pressed on: "How on earth did he get from the top level with Chloe, down to the lower level with Mr. Kubdel, wait for him to be alone, turn off the power, and then make it back upstairs without Chloe even noticing? You'd think if he disappeared somewhere, Chloe would have said something instead of jumping all over Alix!"

It was Marinette's turn to look uncertain. "You know how Chloe is, Alya… I bet she was just happy to have someone to gush to about Ladybug and Queen Bee. She probably never stopped talking and never turned around to see if Nathaniel was still there listening!"

Adrien frowned. "That's not the Chloe I know. She would at least make sure someone was around to validate her," he chuckled.

"So this leaves us back at square one," Alya griped.

"Not exactly. We know we're looking for Nathaniel now, at least," said Adrien.

Alya rolled her eyes. "And _that_ means going down to the lower level. Again. Try not to knock us all down the stairs this time, OK, sunshine boy?"

Adrien grinned.

* * *

Adrien, Alya, and Marinette made their way down the stairs without incident, although Alya insisted on leading the way and going a bit faster than Adrien and Marinette. When Marinette shot her friend an eyebrow, all Alya did was mouth "Stratagem!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. _Yes, Alya, getting me alone with Adrien is a great idea… but not when there's an akuma out there that can get you while we are. I just want to get through this night and then worry about Adrien. I want all my friends safe and sound._

Alya reached the utility closet before the other two.

"Everything OK in there?" Adrien asked.

"Yep, everything's fine, Mr. Kubdel's still frozen at the power switch," Alya answered, turning around and heading back up the stairs.

* * *

Adrien and Marinette were taking their time walking up the stairs. Their hands brushed together occasionally, but neither could get the courage up to actually take the other's. Alya had raced ahead again, trying to get to where Chloe was in order to see if she could get some clues that were missed earlier.

Having climbed the stairs for what seemed like the millionth time that night, Adrien and Marinette were glad - this time - to let Alya race ahead. With Marinette's phone lighting their way, they went down one of the corridors, a medieval exhibit, and proceeded to where they thought Alya had gone.

Suddenly, a cry of "You!" from around the corner snapped them to attention. Marinette looked at Adrien and saw a look of shock and something she couldn't distinguish - fear? - in his eyes. He glanced over her shoulder at something, eyes narrowing. Grabbing and moving her, Adrien was unable to prevent Marinette from being trapped under a pile of suits of armor that had toppled over!

Marinette tugged at her leg, trying to free herself from the rubble of the collapsed exhibit. "Go, go!" she shouted at Adrien. "I'll be fine, go ahead and catch up with Alya before Nathaniel gets her!"

Adrien looked back at her, hesitating only a second before racing ahead, around the corner.

* * *

Alya's head whipped back toward the corner as Adrien rounded it. " _Look ou-!"_ was all she was able to get out before the freezing blast hit her.

* * *

Marinette heard her friend scream and fought like a tiger to get herself free of the heavy armor. _Adrien and Alya are in trouble! I have to get to them!_ She was about to open up her purse when she saw a blond figure dressed in black and green running toward her. _Cat Noir… finally…_ she thought, before closing her eyes and putting her head down, exhausted.


	4. Three to One

"Marinette… are you hurt? Let's get you out of there."

Marinette felt weight shift around her trapped legs, and then hands underneath her arms, lifting and gently pulling her out of the pile of suits of armor.

"Cat Noir… thank you for saving me. How did you get in here?" she whispered, half-opening her eyes.

A hum was the only response she got.

Once she was fully clear of the armor, her rescuer sat her down on the floor and plopped next to her.

Marinette gratefully turned toward him, opened her eyes, and said, "Kit…"

Her eyes opened further.

" _ADRIEN_?!" she shrieked.

"Rest a bit," he replied. "It's been a busy night."

"But… but… Alya!" Marinette moved to get up.

Adrien put a hand on her shoulder and gently held her in place. "She's fine. Don't worry."

Marinette allowed herself to relax a bit, closed her eyes, and put her head on Adrien's shoulder. _Let's see how long I can do this without freaking out. I bet if I keep my eyes closed, it'll be as long as I need..._

* * *

Unfortunately for Marinette, keeping her eyes closed only caused her brain to kick into overdrive.

 _What happened over there? Adrien went around the corner, I heard a yell, then nothing… then Adrien came back for me. ADRIEN CAME BACK FOR ME! Wait, no… hold that thought. Where's Alya? If she's "fine", then how come she's not with us? Unless she finally got her wish and told Adrien that she wanted us to have some alone time, and she's just waiting around the corner for a few minutes so we can cuddle a bit! Yeah, that must be it! But if Alya told Adrien about wanting us to have alone time, then that means that ADRIEN KNOWS I LIKE HIM! Oh no, this is a disaster! How on earth am I ever going to function around a boy who knows I like him?..._

 _...Wait a minute, if he knows I like him, and he's letting me sit here with my head on his shoulder, and he's okay with it, then maybe that means he likes me back! Unless he's been frozen since I closed my eyes! Let me listen for his breathing._

 _...OK, he's still breathing. Am I still breathing? Maybe this is all happening because I was frozen. Or maybe I was hit in the head by an errant knight. I know… I'll pinch myself._

"Ow!" Marinette breathed.

"Are you OK? You seem restless. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine." Marinette sighed. "I, um… want to see Alya real quick. Stay here and wait for me?" She shot Adrien what she hoped was a winning smile, got up, and dashed around the corner.

The last thing Marinette heard before she saw the familiar tomato-red hair was Adrien's voice yelling "Wait! Marinette!"

* * *

Adrien rounded the corner for the last time.

Alya, Marinette, and Nathaniel were standing in a triangle, little more than an arm's-length between each of them.

Marinette was frozen in a defensive posture, looking like she was trying to back away from Nathaniel but not quite being able to.

Alya had her hands spread out as if she were pushing Marinette and Nathaniel away from each other.

Nathaniel had a pleading look on his face, reaching for Alya.

Adrien waited for the standoff to resolve itself. He could be patient. _It's not like they're going anywhere, anyway._

* * *

"ALYA!" Marinette screamed.

"She's frozen," Adrien said.

Marinette whirled on the red-haired boy. "NATHANIEL!" she yelled.

"He's frozen, too," Adrien shrugged.

"Wha…?" That was a bit too much for Marinette to take.

"I think something backfired."

"You mean… Nathaniel went after Alya and she caused it to rebound and get him, too? How would something like that even happen? And why didn't it happen on any of the other victims?"

"That's too many questions for me right now," Adrien laughed, sleepily. "Why don't we go wait by the entrance for someone to come let us out? It's so late right now that it's early, and someone is bound to notice something's wrong and alert the authorities."

 _Two little children watching for the sun…_ Marinette's mind automatically played for her. _Watching for the sunrise with Adrien sounds like a dream, especially after this nightmare of an evening. Plus, if I don't get some rest, people are going to wonder why Ladybug is exhausted when SHE has to make an appearance at the end of all of this._

"I'd like that," Marinette answered. She reached out, took his arm, and paused.

"What is it?"

"I… don't know. Something's nagging at the back of my mind. Since Nathaniel's not a danger anymore, I want to get a closer look and see if I can find the akumatized object. Keep it safe for Ladybug, that sort of thing."

"Whatever you want, Marinette. I'll wait over here." Adrien went back to the corner and leaned against the wall.

Marinette walked toward Nathaniel cautiously. His eyes were wide and his arm was outstretched in Alya's direction. Marinette noted the usual red t-shirt, but her eyes were drawn to his other hand, where it looked like he was holding a piece of paper. Marinette took it and unfolded it, but it was just the beginning of a sketch of someone with dark hair wearing a red hoodie. She smiled to herself and put it back in his hand.

* * *

"Something still doesn't add up, Adrien. Can we swing by Chloe really quickly?" _I've got a feeling I'm going to need something, just in… case._ An image of Cat Noir giving her a grin and a thumbs-up floated into her mind for a split-second.

"Sure thing, Marinette. No hurry; the sun won't be up for another couple of hours, at least."

Marinette and Adrien went to where Chloe stood, frozen in the middle of a hallway.

 _A little sleight-of-hand, and… presto!_ Marinette slid something in her purse and shrugged her shoulders visibly. "Guess I was wrong, there's nothing here either. Sorry, Alya. Looks like you were on the wrong track."

* * *

Adrien and Marinette huddled together in the lobby of the Louvre, staring out at the dawning sky.

" _Two little children watching for the sun_ …" Marinette giggled and blushed a bit. "You know, Adrien, this isn't the first thing that came to mind when I imagined watching a sunrise with you."

"You imagined watching sunrises with me?"

 _Among other things,_ she didn't say. "Yeah…" she said dreamily, then giggled again. "You're on my mind a lot, you know. Ever since our first day of school together, I just can't stop thinking about you. Sorry, I'm probably being pretty creepy," she finished.

"You know, Marinette, I've been watching you tonight. You've taken charge, been compassionate, fair, just, level-headed… all the things that I'm looking for. It's funny," he chuckled, "the rest of that line says _One saw spots_ … if I didn't know any better, I would have assumed we had Ladybug here with us all along!"

The wheels started turning in Marinette's head. _How do I even respond to that? Adrien's comparing me to Ladybug!_ Rational thoughts were rapidly replaced by static as her brain short-circuited.

"Adrien… that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I mean it." She took a deep breath, smiled, then looked him in the eyes. Bashfully, she moved her head towards his, letting her eyes close.

She felt his fingers reach up and brush her cheek, moving her hair off of the side of her face. Those fingers traced along her cheekbone, back towards her hairline…

...Marinette leaned in closer…

...and gasped, instinctively flinching away when Adrien's fingers pulled on her left earring.

"Those earrings are very pretty, Marinette. Can I have them?"

A small cry escaped her as Hawk Moth's telltale energy signature illuminated Adrien's face.

* * *

Scrambling up and away as fast as she could, Marinette exclaimed, "No! How could you?!"

 _Careful, Marinette. He's a victim, here. This isn't your Adrien. He's not responsible for this, Hawk Moth is. Keep him talking and maybe he won't freeze you and take your earrings._

Marinette backed towards the stairs.

"Sweet, trusting, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It's amazing how much of this I was able to get done right under your nose! All in the name of attracting Paris's Finest Superheroes. But they haven't come yet, have they? I wonder if they might be already here. You're pretty protective of those earrings, Marinette. Why won't you let me see them?"

"Gift… grandmother… birthday… special…" she stammered out, retreating down the stairs. "How did you do it?" she pleaded. _If I act desperate and helpless, he'll be less likely to freeze me first and ask questions later…_

"Can I tell you a secret? Actually, here, let me show you." Black-and-purple bubbles boiled around Adrien, and when they evaporated, Marinette saw… Nino.

* * *

"How do I know you're not messing with me? How do I know this is the real you, Nino? Or Adrien? Or whoever you are?! Nino's down by the drinking fountains! We all saw him!"

"Did you? You saw _someone_ by the drinking fountains, but you could only really see the clothes. My clothes. Or… that's what I wanted you to think." Nino-the-akuma followed Marinette downstairs.

"You see, not everybody in the classroom trusts Nino Lahiffe. Sure, they all know me by sight, but I'm not best buds with everyone in the class. Nobody is. Not even you, Marinette. But the closest I could come to someone who is universally trusted and loved was the golden boy himself. That's why I got him first. That's why I assumed his identity.

"Once I was Adrien, doors opened up to me. It's easy to move around when everybody trusts you. Sabrina didn't even question it when I popped back into the auditorium to get something out of Adrien's bag before we all went upstairs. And you and Alya didn't question it when 'Adrien' suggested we take the long way to the lobby.

"Nobody noticed when I slipped away and hid in the shadows, waiting for someone to find Sabrina. Poor, slow, polite Mylène… she never saw me coming. I'm not even sure she was listening to anything at all, to be honest. Mr. Kubdel's rambling drones about Egyptian astronomy were enough to put anyone to sleep!

"And speaking of poor Mr. Kubdel… that's entirely your responsibility! You and Alya, even though we were _paired off for safety_ , managed to somehow _leave me alone to wander the museum for at least ten minutes!_ It was simple to go and see him, and him being by the master breaker only worked in my favor. I was gone and back before you two even noticed!

"Chloe then made sure suspicion was off of me - not that I had to ask her to do it, of course. She immediately jumped all over Alix and started accusing her of being responsible for all the terror. It was a dream come true! And when I caught up with Chloe later, I made sure to thank her in the special way that only I could… and since I was disguised as her 'Adri-kins', she didn't even scream when she saw me. It was too easy…

"Alix crashing into Chloe was a stroke of luck that I couldn't have even imagined! It set Alix up for the fall I needed her to take. When she decided to go off alone, it was too perfect! I could hide in plain sight with the rest of you, and wait for my opportunity. I almost got Nathaniel at the pastries when he left the restroom early, but instead I wound up getting Alix instead!

"Nathaniel probably guessed that there was no way he would be able to convince the two of you - crushing, lovesick Marinette and her BFF Alya - that I was behind all of this, so he thought he would be able to wait it out until morning when reinforcements arrived! The only flaw in his plan was that he had the most intrepid investigator I know on his tail, and Alya wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

"Alya's other goal was to get you and 'Adrien' alone together tonight, so when she gave us that opportunity to sneak off, I was more than happy to take it. Unfortunately for me - and for her - she stumbled right across poor Nathaniel! Nathaniel had seen me freeze Alix, so he had to go, and quickly. I then had to get Alya before she could alert you. But before that, I had to immobilize you, and that required me to think a bit on my feet…

"I froze the pedestal underneath one of the suits of armor to knock them over. With you safely out of harm's way, I sprinted around the corner and found Alya and Nathaniel. I had to get Alya first, because even if Nathaniel yelled, you probably wouldn't have believed him. Plus, you were nicely tangled up…

"Nathaniel was the next to go. After that, it was a matter of coming back here with you. I didn't have to freeze you since you're pretty trustworthy, and you also didn't suspect me. We could have waited this out together. I'll have to do it alone, though, and that's OK. If I freeze you and the authorities come and Adrien Agreste, model student, is the only survivor of a dangerous akuma?

"It was almost perfect. But then you had to come along and ruin it. And now… you're going to pay for it. FREEZE!"

* * *

Marinette jumped out of the way of the freeze blast and backed into the main gallery. _I can't transform into Ladybug right now because it will just confirm to Hawk Moth who I am! Ohh… this is bad-bad-bad!_ She dodged another freeze blast and bolted around the corner to the Pharaohs exhibit, with a third freeze blast narrowly missing her. She dove behind a statue and reached into her purse. _I hope this works. There is no other option after this. Rena's gone, Carapace is out of the question, Queen Bee is down for the count… I hope Cat Noir can figure out what to do when he gets here, but even then we run the risk of the akuma multiplying before we can purify it._

Her train of thought was derailed by Nino coming into the exhibit hall. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Marinette! Let's not make this harder than it has to be!"

She waited until he passed, readied an object in each hand, and leapt out behind him. As soon as he turned around, she activated the light on her phone…

...And aimed it at Chloe's diamond-encrusted phone case, creating a light so bright that Nino was blinded! Stumbling around, Nino fell deeper and deeper into the exhibit hall…

...Until Marinette gave him a swift kick from behind, pushing him into a sarcophagus, which she then slammed shut!

* * *

"Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

* * *

Nino was still stunned from the light when Ladybug opened the sarcophagus and yelled, "Hide, Marinette! I've got this!" He was even more shocked when Ladybug took his hat and ripped it in two expectantly.

Ladybug was the shocked one, though, when nothing happened.

And again nothing happened when she took Nino's glasses and snapped them in half.

She tore the headphones from around Nino's neck and threw them on the ground. A purple-and-black butterfly, mercifully, floated up from the wreckage.

 _Third time's the lucky charm, I guess._ _Good gracious, Cat Noir _is_ really starting to rub off on me._ "Time to de-EVILIZE!"

* * *

Ladybug dove behind a statue again. _I have to do my thing REALLY fast before Nino comes to. It won't do for him to wake up and find eight classmates, Ladybug, and no Marinette. And I'll need a cover story…_

"Lucky charm!" she called out, catching the object that landed in her hand.

"Huh… that's interesting," she commented, before throwing it up in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The swarm of magical ladybugs were still going when her voice whispered, "Tikki, spots off."

And Marinette was left to wonder about the events of the past evening, and what they meant.


	5. Epilogue

Marinette ran to the sarcophagus and helped Nino out of it.

"Wha… what happened?"

"Nino! You were akumatized. It's OK, we're safe now."

"I know… did I hurt anyone?"

"No… you're fine. Everyone's fine. Come on, let's go back to the auditorium and round everyone else up."

* * *

One by one, the other students and Mr. Kubdel made their way to the auditorium. Rather than immediately packing their bags, the classmates sat down and exchanged stories.

"Soooo… what'd I miss?" Adrien asked once everyone had arrived on the scene.

In turn, the students and Mr. Kubdel spoke, detailing what happened. As each person said that 'Adrien' froze them, the real Adrien's face fell more and more glum.

Alix was speaking about what happened when she skated away from the rest of the group. "I knew I wasn't the akuma, and I was willing to trust someone to team up with them. You three weren't about to trust me, and I don't think Chloe really trusts anybody except Sabrina and Adrien, so I went to my bud from art class - Nathaniel.

"I sneaked up behind him when Chloe was talking his head off about Ladybug - _sorry, Chloe, but it's the truth!_ \- and we worked out a plan."

Nathaniel picked the story up. "Alix would masquerade as me as best she could, even borrowing Marc's hoodie. That would leave me to sneak around the museum and try to find out what was going on.

"Unfortunately, the akuma came out and caught us doing the switch, and froze Alix right after I gave her the hoodie. I took off running and hoped that I would at least be able to hide or alert Alya or Marinette to the danger."

When the story got to Alya, Marinette interrupted, "So, tell me something. The akuma had convinced me that Nathaniel's freeze blast backfired on him and got you both. What really happened?

"On my way to see Chloe, I bumped into Nathaniel, who was doing the same thing," started Alya.

"Alya! Thank goodness you're alone! You're in danger! I saw who froze Alix!" "We all know it was YOU!" "No, no… it's not what you think! It's Adrien! I gave Alix the hoodie to throw Adrien off the scent, and just after I did that, he froze her and almost got me! Please," he reached out to her pleadingly, "you have to believe me!" "Wait… throw _Adrien_ off the scent? You're not trying to get me to believe…" Alya looked away from Nathaniel as Adrien rounded the corner. Adrien raised his arm and pointed it at Alya, a blue light forming at the end of his fingertip. " _Look ou-!_ " Alya shouted at Nathaniel. Nathaniel watched in horror as the freeze blast hit Alya. The akuma turned and fired off another freeze blast, striking Nathaniel. Satisfied, the akuma counted to ten to calm himself down, then turned and went back around the corner.

"I figured with Alya at the head of the investigation, she would start examining victims eventually, and maybe we could meet up," continued Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel was explaining to me what he saw, and I was skeptical. But then the akuma came around the corner, and… well, you saw what happened. Or at least the aftermath of it."

Finally, it was Marinette's turn.

"Af… after it was just the akuma and me left, Ad… um, sorry, the akuma, actually invited me to watch the sunrise with him. Since I thought the akuma was Nathaniel - _sorry again, Nate_ \- I figured it was safe."

She smiled at Adrien, whose countenance lifted.

"The akuma then tried to freeze me, and I dodged it and hid in an exhibit. Ladybug must have been swinging by on a patrol and saw us fighting. Maybe the light from my phone made her think it was a burglar or something. Anyway, she broke in through the pyramid, beat the akuma, and got everything set right before I could even come out of my hiding place to say thanks!"

"Wait a minute, Marinette," Mr. Kubdel said, "If Ladybug broke in, how come there's no sign of her entering? The security system is still engaged and the glass on the pyramid is shatterproof."

"Umm… you'll have to ask her, I guess! Magic?" Marinette giggled. "Maybe her lucky charm was a glass-cutter, and her Miraculous Ladybug fixed the window?"

* * *

As the students gathered their stuff, Adrien, Alya, Marinette, and Nino grouped up for a more private conversation.

"Babe, so what happened? Why were you akumatized?" Alya asked, her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm kind of embarrassed, actually," Nino said sheepishly. "I let myself get frustrated over my headphones breaking. I tried to control myself, but I had saved up for these things for like three months, you know? They're super-high-quality, and one of the scare tracks I played just knocked out the speaker.

"Next thing I knew, there was a butterfly landing on them, and I decided to roll with it. I wasn't feeling entirely malicious or wanting revenge, and whatever Hawk Moth wanted me to do, I figured I would be able to not hurt anybody. I'd rather take one for the team myself than risk Hawk Moth getting to someone who could do some serious damage."

Marinette glanced at Alya and would have sworn on the spot that her friend's eyes were replaced by stars and hearts because of how she was looking at Nino.

"Anyway, I think it all worked out. Nobody got hurt, and since Ladybug had to break my headphones to free the akuma, Miraculous Ladybug fixed them good as new! Even the part that broke in the first place!" He laughed and tapped his headphones, then stepped away to roll up his sleeping bag, taking Adrien with him.

Nino's enthusiasm wasn't infectious: Alix swore under her breath and stalked away.

"Alix, what's the matter, honey?" Mr. Kubdel asked.

"I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH LADYBUG!" Alix replied.

"Wait, why are you mad at Ladybug?" inquired Nathaniel. "She did save us, after all."

"I know. But _apparently_ when she goes back and fixes all the damage that an akuma attack does, it doesn't cover damage to your phone!"

"Alix… didn't you tell us you dropped your phone in the toilet?"

"..."

* * *

"You know, Marinette, there's something I've gotta ask," Alya said, sliding over next to her.

 _Here it comes,_ Marinette thought to herself. _Please, please, please, let me off easy… even though I know there's no chance of that happening_.

Alya leaned in closer and whispered, " _Do_ you know Cat Noir?" Her eyebrows raised as she watched Marinette figure out what to say.

One deep breath later, Marinette responded, "I do. There was the Evillustrator akuma, and Cat Noir came out and protected me. That was the first time we met," _when I wasn't in costume_ , she mentally added. "Then, there was the night we all went to Andre's and Adrien didn't show up. Cat Noir showed up on my balcony for a little chat, since he had gotten his heart broken that night too." _By me._ "Since then, he drops by occasionally and we hang out, play games, talk about our love lives… just be friends. I feel like I'm the only person who can be his friend as a superhero, and I'm honored that he lets me."

Just then, Adrien walked up. "And I'm sure that he feels the same way about you. I know I'm honored that you're my friend." He smiled and gave a familiar wink.

Marinette had to stop and wait for her brain to finish rebooting.

* * *

Marinette was surprised to not hear any noise in the bakery kitchen or smell any fresh-baked goods when she got home. Usually, at least her dad was up and had already fired up the ovens for the early-morning customers.

Exhausted after a long, exciting evening, she only wanted two things: a shower, and a long talk with Tikki. She kicked off her shoes and stretched, only to be met by a sheepish-looking Tom Dupain coming down the ladder to her loft.

"...Dad?" she asked, slowly. "What were you doing up there?"

"Oh, hi, honey. Um, your mother and I had dinner last night on the balcony and, er, fell asleep under the stars."

"Oh, Dad, that's great! I'm so glad you took some time for yourselves. You're always so busy." She paused. "Where's Mom?"

Tom glanced back up the ladder, where Sabine, wearing only a robe, was climbing through the hatch from the balcony.

Marinette's eyes widened.

"We'll get you a new chair for your balcony," Tom mumbled.

"I'm going to go take that shower now and try to scrub that thought from my brain," Marinette said, heading to the bathroom.

* * *

A frustrated roar, deep in a Paris mansion.

"This is the _last_ time I go to bed and leave the akuma to its own devices! I figured this one was smart enough, this one was clever enough for me to get some much-needed rest, and I check in just in time for Ladybug to have shown up!

"And the akuma was disguised as my _son_! Nathalie, take a memo: remind me to tell the akumas going forward to not impersonate Adrien. That was so dumb! _He wasn't even there!_ I listened at his door and he was clearly asleep. That reminds me, Nathalie, take another memo: schedule an appointment for Adrien with a sleep specialist. Some of those snores sounded like he has a serious problem."

"Once again, I send out an akuma! Once again, I am thwarted! I need a better plan next time… one where I won't be stopped by Ladybug and Cat Noir! I would have achieved my wish already if it weren't for those MEDDLING KIDS!"

* * *

After she showered and dressed, Marinette flopped down on her bed. "Tikki, can I ask you something?" she said, eyes closed.

"Anything, Marinette!" her kwami answered around a mouthful of cookie.

"Why did I get THAT as my lucky charm? I can't figure out if I was supposed to do anything with it other than cast Miraculous Ladybug."

"Marinette, the Lucky Charm magic gives you what you need to solve the problem you're currently facing. Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes you really have to use your creativity. I think in this case it's both." Tikki swallowed her cookie. "You said yourself you only needed it for Miraculous Ladybug, so what problem was at the top of your mind after beating the akuma?"

Marinette thought hard. She imagined the Lucky Charm she had received: a bracelet, made from red string, with eight red-and-black spotted beads strung on it. Her eyes snapped open.

"Tikki, that's exactly like the bracelet I gave to Adrien! What are you trying to tell me?"

"When was the last time you saw that bracelet, Marinette?"

"It was the akumatized object when Adrien's bodyguard became Gorizilla," Marinette remembered, frowning.

"Right! Remember how you felt when you discovered that was the object? Something personal of yours, something special. That was probably the most offended I've felt you be when you destroyed it to free the akuma. You obviously care a lot about the bracelet…"

"...AND about who I gave it to. You know what, Tikki? I was actually able to use complete sentences and talk about my feelings in front of Adrien tonight. I mean, it wasn't the _real_ Adrien, but maybe tonight was practice?"

"You were about to kiss him, Marinette!" Tikki pointed out.

"Well, he _did_ compare me to Ladybug! That's pretty special. If he ever did compare me to Ladybug in real life, I think that's exactly how I would react!"

Marinette and Tikki dissolved into giggles and shared a hug.

"Tikki, there's only one more thing scarier than an akuma impersonating Adrien."

"What's that?"

"The akuma actually _being_ Adrien. I'm not sure I could handle that."

"I can think of something else, Marinette."

"What's that?"

"What if the akuma had impersonated _you_?"

 _~fin~_

Thank you all for reading this! I had a blast writing it, and again, I have to thank dfcfanfics for the peek into the Idea Bin.

Some of you figured out clues and put them in the comments. Here is a list of the rest of the clues I scattered throughout the work:

"A smile, then an even brighter smile" indicates that some change in the akuma took place. Who is famous for having a very bright smile? The model.

'Adrien' ran over to hug Alya after she discovered the first victim because he's actually Nino.

How did 'Adrien' know that Sabrina was frozen when he arrived late and didn't touch her? And there wasn't a shell around her like there was Adrien?

The job that Nathaniel had to do was searching for an akuma.

The Van Gogh that 'Adrien' studies is from the Butterflies collection, giving a subtle hint that 'Adrien' has an interest in butterflies, and not just because his last name is Agreste.

'Adrien' was "flushed" after the power went out. Why? He had just charged back from the lower level.

'Adrien' didn't know about the flashlight… because Nino wasn't in the room when Adrien told the campfire story.

'Adrien' directly quoting Gizmo (from "Gremlins", an amazing movie) indicates that things are not what they seem with him.

'Adrien' is again, the only person to examine the victim when they discover Mr. Kubdel. Anyone else examining him closely would have noted that the power could have very easily been turned back on. Mr. Kubdel wasn't turning off the power when he was frozen, he was moved there after 'Adrien' turned off the power.

Why didn't 'Adrien' cough nervously after Chloe says she would go after Hawk Moth? He is, after all, Ladybug's partner. Nino is trying hard to not blow his identity here… but the identity he's trying hard not to blow is his as 'Adrien'… and as Carapace.

'Adrien' going to the restroom doesn't mean anything, other than he really did have to go to the little boys' room. Nothing untoward with the first visit. The second visit, to wash his hands, is when he ambushes 'Nathaniel'. Unfortunately, he's not the only devious one and accidentally gets Alix. "I… don't understand. Where's Nathaniel?" is a genuine reaction, one of the few that 'Adrien' has once the story starts. He's very quiet for the next few scenes because he's trying to evaluate the new situation.

'Adrien' and Marinette waiting for red both mean Ladybug, but for different reasons.

'Adrien's face fell after Alya mentioned Nino's headphones because he was still upset the headphones were broken. He picked up on the campfire story when he was asked about the flashlight earlier, and he knows Adrien well enough that him telling a campfire story would have been disastrous.

'Adrien' noting the interesting strategy was foreshadowing for Catalyst, since most of that did happen in that episode. It wasn't meant as anything other than that. But if he were in communication with Hawk Moth and had taken the akuma for nefarious purposes, Hawk Moth may have gotten an idea or two to use.

'Adrien' actually moved Marinette into the path of the falling suits of armor, but not enough to where she would actually be hurt.

The "something backfiring" that 'Adrien' referred to was Nathaniel's plan, not akuma power.

Finally, I stuffed some references from one of my favorite movies: "Clue", which is required watching for anyone who likes mysteries and comedy. Story structure that wasn't lifted from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" was liberally borrowed from "Clue". Things like splitting up to search the museum, a collision causing everyone to fall down the stairs, multiple solutions to the crime, and Alya's quote when she checks on Mr. Kubdel in the utility closet all fall into that category.

Marinette "fighting like a tiger" to free herself from the suits of armor is a direct reference to the excellent "Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright" by dfcfanfics. Go read it.

The scene when Marinette and Alya are looking at a Renoir is directly quoted from "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain", possibly my all-time favorite movie.

There's lots of foreshadowing for Catalyst here in case you haven't seen it. If you have seen it, then hopefully you got them all.

There's also foreshadowing for Mayura as well!

Finally, Alix is referred to as "quick like a rabbit" to address rumors that she may get a certain Miraculous in the future.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR READING!


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